Santa Ana (Ecuador) Court Case: rights of the Portoviejo River

Summary

On 10 February, 2026, a judge in the Santa Ana Multicompetent Judicial Unit issued a ruling that declared the Portoviejo River a subject of rights, applying Ecuador’s constitutional framework that recognizes the Rights of Nature, and ordered remedial actions to address longstanding environmental degradation.

Background
In November 2025, a civil society group, the Colectivo Intercomunitario por la Defensa Ecológica del Río Portoviejo (CIDER) filed a protective action with the Multicompetent Judicial Unit based in the canton of Santa Ana, against the local government, in order to halt the alleged violation of the constitutional rights of the Portoviejo River, and to declare it a subject of rights.

The plaintiff group, including the Portoviejo River itself (represented by José Xavier Castro Moreira), presented technical and scientific evidence documenting high levels of contaminants and ecological harm, and emphasized that the 100‑kilometer river supports water supplies for tens of thousands of residents and contributes to the Tumbes‑Chocó‑Magdalena biodiversity hotspot, making it an essential ecological and community resource.

Legal Arguments
The plaintiffs claim that it is the responsibility of the Municipality to manage and care for the river, which “has, through actions and omissions, violated the rights of the Portoviejo River and the inhabitants of the Santa Ana canton, recognized in the Constitution.” They argue that the river “has been suffering permanent and progressive pollution, and is therefore currently dying; in effect, it is losing its capacity to carry out and fulfill its natural cycles, ecological and socio environmental functions, natural structure, and evolutionary process.”

The plaintiffs identify what they consider key failures of the Municipality:
1. Polluted waters are discharged into the river due to the absence of a wastewater treatment and decontamination system for the urban area.
2. Nature-based solutions are not incorporated into regulations or infrastructure.
3. The city has not properly planned for population growth.
4. Inadequate sewage and water collection system have contaminated clean rainwater.
5. The development and land-use plan lacks policies, programs, and projects for the river’s protection and restoration.
6. The annual operating plan does not allocate funding for river decontamination.

They further argue that the public has not been truthfully informed about conditions in the upper basin of the Portoviejo River, limiting citizens’ ability to take action or adopt practices that reduce pollution. This lack of awareness, they contend, has contributed to a broader disconnect between the river and local communities, weakening a sense of stewardship and collective responsibility for the river—a rift that only accelerates the river’s contamination and deterioration.

Legal Ruling
Judge Manuel Eugenio Ruiz Moreira (Multicompetent Judicial Unit of Santa Ana) found that the river’s rights had been violated by omissions committed by the Municipality of Santa Ana, and declared the Portoviejo River a rights‑bearing entity with special protection.

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has established, through its jurisprudence, that in cases of doubt regarding environmental harm, the principle *in dubio pro natura* (or *pro natura*) must be applied, prioritizing the protection of nature—even on the basis of preliminary technical reports. In other words, it fell to the GAD of the Santa Ana canton to demonstrate that no ongoing violation against the Portoviejo River exists—a demonstration that, procedurally speaking, has not been made.” (pg. 34)

In conjunction, he declared these omissions have infringed upon the right of the people inhabiting the Portoviejo River basin to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.

The Judge ordered multiple reparation measures, including the execution of short and medium‑term wastewater treatment plans by the Municipality, mechanisms for citizen and civil society participation in oversight, and the establishment of “Guardians of the Portoviejo River” responsible for monitoring compliance with the measures mandated in the judgment.

Municipal authorities have indicated plans to appeal the decision to the Provincial Court of Justice of Manabí, asserting that responsibility for water management is shared with other governmental bodies.

Impact Statement

The ruling notes that this judgment constitutes a pioneering legal precedent regarding the protection of nature within the province of Manabí. As such, the court ordered that the Council of the Judiciary publish the full text of this judgment prominently on the homepage of its institutional website, and to disseminate it via email and other appropriate channels to all judges possessing jurisdiction to adjudicate cases involving jurisdictional guarantees.

The Portoviejo River became the fifth river in Ecuador recognized as a subject of rights, reinforcing jurisprudence that grants legal standing to specific ecosystems under Articles 71–74 of the Ecuadorian Constitution and expanding practical enforcement of rights of nature at the local judicial level.